Katsi woke up in a dark room lit only by the digital screens around her. On a nearby couch she saw Gavin and Anisa sitting with Tak’Nasi. “…and this is the only way I can get space.” The clone looked over at her, her demeanor far more subdued from the other ones she saw. “Oh, hey. Sorry about everything. Everyone’s first trip into space is rough.”
Katsi sat up and tried to pick details out of the dark before shaking her head to clear it and nodded, “Yeah. Not used to seeing what I’m guessing is sentient beings moving in ways only animals and robots move.”
Tak’Nasi leapt right in, “I know, right!? I mean, I’ve seen and read every note since the genuine article and there is nothing that prepares you for it.” The girl took the teapot on the table and poured a fresh cup for Katsi. “It tastes terrible, just a warning. But it helps.” Katsi took it and after a moment of hesitation downed the drink in one gulp, much to Tak’Nasi’s surprise. It tasted like she was drinking pine sap, but the sensation of it going down her throat was like it was getting coated with honey. It was an odd experience, but somewhat enjoyable. She felt her nerves settling and her ability to focus increasing. “Wow, I’m impressed. Your sister has been hesitating to sip for the last half hour.”
Anisa looked away embarrassed, trying to gauge Katsi’s reaction to the drink. “I mean, it is weird, but I feel more centered.” Anisa seeming content with that took a sip and recoiled at the flavor until she felt it going down her throat. “Alright, so I was asleep. Can someone catch me up?”
Gavin nodded, “This is my contact and our potential ship doctor. Technically she could probably help anywhere she is needed on the ship, but I’ve known her for years and medicine is her preference.” Tak’Nasi nodded and cleared her throat, “Oh, also, she has a shade of valid paranoia because she doesn’t really have privacy because she is Tak’Nasi.”
She bristled at him and growled, “You take complex situations and make them needlessly simple yet again, Gav.” She cleared her throat and spoke in a way that reminded Katsi of the orientation video. “Everyone here lives for the experiment. Learn, share, return, leave again. I just want to live my life. No expectations. No Tak’Nasi or Tak’Nasi. Just me. Me and whatever I do until I die. Gav kept telling me he would find a way to give me that. Then when you all fired the Light of Dawn-“
“We are not calling it that!” Gavin growled.
Tak’Nasi rolled her eyes at him and continued, “I called in a favor and demanded to come with you guys. I mean, we would want to avoid the others moving forward because some of them can be a bit obsessive, but I am more than willing to help you guys. Just get me out of here so I can live free for once.”
Anisa spoke firmly with a note of suspicion, “And I was telling her that her people seem content to let her leave and it isn’t like they are spying on her. Why does she need us?”
Tak’Nasi shouted, “They are spying! Constantly! They say, look at Tak’Nasi. She’s so weird. Wants to keep her life to herself. She isn’t special so why does she act like that? She’s clearly deranged for not wanting to share every second of life experience with the rest of society to advance the experiment!” She sat back down, tears in her eyes. “I want to live for me. My own sake. It isn’t wrong to want to be your own person.”
Katsi, realizing what was going on, motioned the others quiet and wrapped an arm around her new friend. She sat there for just a moment hugging her until the tears stopped. “Tak.” Hearing her name shortened like this caused her a mild amount of surprise. “I can’t ever fully understand what you are going through. I will never have the same experiences as you.” Tak looked pained at first but Katsi continued, “But I would be honored to go on an adventure with you. Maybe we can just sit around doing nothing every now and again.” Tak looked at her and hugged her again.
Releasing the hug after a few minutes, Tak blocked the rest of the team out, clearly done with them. “I would appreciate that. And you don’t have to use a nickname or anything.”
Katsi shook her head. “You can’t just fly away from a situation like this. It will help, but unless you take more than just physical steps, you are going to keep remembering here.” Tak seemed unsure. “If you still want to keep your name for now, then maybe we leave this as a nickname between you and me and when you find your own name, you let me know,
Okay?”
Tak nodded, “Okay… Kat?” She asked to test the waters. When Katsi nodded, the two girls continued their crying hug.
Eventually Gavin spoke up, “Okay. Cool therapy session, but I stand by my toll. You want off planet I need the goods.”
Katsi shot him a glare for being so heartless, but Tak shook her head, “He’s actually right. You guys are absolutely going to need this equipment if you are going to try to take out the Falos.”
“About that. What is the Tak’Nasian stance on the Falos?” Katsi queried.
Tak laughed, “Yeah, about that. The Falos are scared of pissing us off, but we have good diplomatic relations. The security team is ready for sabotage for bringing you in the same way they are on guard in case it looks like your cannon is getting aimed at the surface. We don’t fear anyone, but we understand lunatics and sociopaths are everywhere. That said, the sooner all of us are off planet, the less likely someone is to make things infinitely worse.”
Anisa sighed and muttered to herself. After a few seconds of everyone staring at her she laughed, “I’m sorry. Just thinking to myself.” A few moments more and she exasperatedly said, “I have a gut feeling that there is already someone trying to make our lives harder. Some part of my fight or flight response screaming that we are in danger.”
Tak adjusted her goggles which seemed to flash for a moment in the dark room before she nodded, “Then we need to leave yesterday. Thank you for sharing your instincts with me.” Anisa seemed to freeze at what Tak said but she struck a high energy cute pose and said, “Operation GTFO ready to go!” The cute vanished behind professional focus instantly and she poked Gavin in the chest. He looked at her nervously. She poked him again, glaring harder at him. He looked away and produced three odd looking devices. She handed one to Katsi as she put one around her own wrist. “Gav made these for emergencies. Put it on and if you ever feel like you are in true danger and going to die, push the button on it or think really hard about not wanting to die and it will activate. Try not to do either of those things until necessary.”
Katsi put it on her wrist and felt a sharp pain. Seeing her wince, Gavin explained, “That’s a DNA lock. Only universal security for this stuff. Not as secure for Tak’Nasi, but it will stop the Falos.” Katsi nodded. Approaching her older sister, she noticed how pale she had gotten. She went to hug her only to have her older sister jump. Anisa smiled weakly to reassure her but Katsi could tell she was shaken.”
----------
Anisa left the apartment while holding her head a little. She could feel the claws digging at her mind. Tak turned to her and jabbed her in the neck with a needle. Moments later she felt a sensation like honey coating her throat and her nerves settle some. Tak explained, “This will help your focus without dulling your instincts. Now, I need you as a weather vane. You two.” She pointed to Gavin and Katsi. “Gav, go to the market place. Third food cart down Blind Alley. Kat, head for the hanger and prepare the engines.” Gavin looked annoyed at Tak, but a moment of locked eye contact got him to fall in line. When everyone was gone, Tak stated firmly, “I won’t say anything about it until we are secure on the ship and I’ve done a proper exam. Until then, we can use this. So try to keep yourself centered until we have gotten to the Grand Hall.”
Anisa asked carefully, “Why are we going to the grand hall?”
Tak realized she had taken someone who wasn’t familiar with her and shook her head with disappointment. “Grand hall of records. I need to check arrival records and cross reference where to find Tak’Nasi and her friends. If I see unusual movement’s I’ll know if we need to treat them as hostile. Just keep me posted on that instinct of yours.” Anisa nodded, trying to breathe deep to stay focused.
——————
Gavin peeled off from the group and began to try to blend into the crowd. He was used to this. Between slipping away from pursuits and doing recon on deals before arriving proper. Still, he knew that Tak’Nasi wasn’t likely to let him get away with dragging his heels. Quickly weaving through the crowd and turning down the empty side road that was known as Blind Alley, he sighed with annoyance. “Hasnacht, Ulbricht. What brings you third stringers here.”
The snake faced humanoid turned with a hissing smirk, “Heard you retired. Figured we could fill the gap.”
The cephalopodic toad beast turned and croaked, “Can’t smuggle. Ours now.”
Gavin chuckled. “Maybe you rookies don’t know the rules. I paid my debts. That means what I have left is mine.”
Hasnacht approached swiftly, trying to threaten him by closing to bite range, but Gavin didn’t seem to mind. “We heard you moving a lot of goods for a retiree. Got yourself a new ride too, it seems.”
Ulbricht croaked, “New crew. New business.”
Gavin nodded as he stated firmly. “I’m not just going straight. My friends and I? We are gonna save the cosmos. There isn’t a dime of pay in it. So bottom feeders like you wouldn’t be interested.”
The two low level thugs seemed to find this amusing, laughing at his optimism but his smile was firm and bulletproof. “I was better than you because I had higher ideals. You are about to see what happens when I chase them.”
——————
Anisa grabbed Tak by the back of her jacket, the clone getting caught by the throat in the process. Anisa was holding her head in a deathgrip with her free hand. “Yep. I am being warned of extreme danger.”
Tak nodded, adjusting her goggles and sighed, “Only one person. Damn.” She adjusted the device she took from Gavin and explained, “Grand hall is usually full of Tak’Nasi filling out forms and documentation. Kidnapping or murder. Either way, the person in the Grand Hall is in trouble.” Tak locked eyes with Anisa who nodded and went to transform. Tak knocked her hand away. “Not yet. Let them monologue or something first.” Anisa felt her hands shaking, but nodded in agreement.
When they entered they saw a man clad in red and gold, completely enclosed and prepared for war, but seemingly unarmed. His voice rumbled, “You really think I couldn’t hear you, don’t you?” Anisa could feel her breathing speed up. He looked through his clouded visor at her and laughed, “You are right to be afraid, but I got what I came for. You and your friend in the Grand Hall. Records missing here and your proverbial prints all over it, Zora.”
He was about to leave when Anisa’s comms lit up. “Uh, sis, there is some lady in black trying to set me on fire with her mind? Can you field this one?”
The man jolted and began to shout in a language Anisa didn’t know. He put a hand to his helmet, “You ignorant cow! We were almost out! What do you mean, “dramatic exit”? No, we do not need to leave a symbol behind!” He growled and flipped the two women off as he tried to leave.
Anisa tried to transform to stop him but Tak stopped her again, “No. His friend caused issues in the hangers. Security knows what is going on now. We already have an army on him. As long as nothing else happens we should be safe.”
It was then a loud explosion came from the market district.
——————
Katsi scrambled between the metal crates as the seemingly alive purple fire chased her around the room. Lady Unicorn was trying to taunt Katsi between responses to her partner. With one sentence she would taunt, “Scurry, little mouse. I enjoy fast food.” And the next would be whispered as an aside, “Of course the cargo is secure. I told you that they need to fear us.” Again loud, “My flames never fail to burn my foes!” The next, “Excuse me, but the prince loves my sense of style.”
Katsi couldn’t figure out what this lady’s issue was. She clearly wasn’t working alone, but she didn’t seem to be giving either process her full focus. Looking around the room she noticed a few containers that seemed to be attached to what could be a generator. Praying it was flammable, she ran towards it, shouting into the comms again, “What the hell is taking you guys?! She’s trying to kill me!”
The response over the comms was, “High yield ordinance. What’s stopping you? You have that thingy.” Gavin’s voice seemed highly annoyed from this.
Katsi jumped along the containers and braced herself for the boom… when the fire suddenly stopped. She looked at her attacker and saw something she couldn’t fully process. The air next to her was shattered like someone broke a window. A man in red and gold armor had grabbed the woman by her horn. His rumbling tone chastised her, “Diplomatic emergency. You blew our whole scheme. It’s gonna take weeks to-“ he dragged her back through the shattered glass and it seemed to fade like it had been made of fog.
She blinked in disbelief. Going into the shuttle to get a better idea of what was going on, there were odd bits of technology on the floor of the ship. Tak’Nasi and her security team ran up to the bottom of the boarding ramp and pointed oddly shaped devices at her that she was too afraid to ask their function. She smiled, “I can explain?”